Freak
by Riku Evans
Summary: Troy has always known that he was a little different, but he didn't know just how different until the new kids came to town. SLASH Troy/OMC Ryan/OMC
1. The Fused One Arrives

-1**Summary:** Troy has always known that he was different. Until he met the new kids at school, he never knew how different he really was.

**Warnings:** This is a slash fic. Just in case that isn't clear enough for you, I'll rephrase it: Boys date boys in this story. If that's not your thing, that's fine. Just don't read it. Another warning I want to make is that this story is rated M because the language in it is a bit worse than in my last one. I'm not sure how far you can go before you need the higher rating, but I didn't want to risk it.

**Author's Note:** I just want to say that I am really excited to have the first chapter of this ready. I really like it and I hope that other people will too. So here you go, my new baby.

**Freak**

**Chapter 1: The Fused One Arrives**

"The four of you understand that you have been entrusted with an extremely important task, don't you?" the head elder asked.

"We understand," The chosen four said in unison.

"We will work our hardest to succeed," The Fused One assured her.

"That is all that we can ask for," the elder said. "We also ask that you be careful who you reveal your gifts to," she added.

"Don't worry Madame Elder," said the powerful protector. "I will make sure that we are all careful." She pointed a look at one of the other protectors.

"Well, we'd best be on our way," the Fused said.

"Yes, you should. Be careful, all of you. And remember, their customs are different from ours, so do your best not to make a big ruckus." And with that, the four left on their mission.

"Troy!"

"What?" Troy said as he pulled himself out of his thoughts.

"So?" Chad asked.

"So what?" Troy asked back.

"So are you going to answer my question?"

"What was it again?"

"Come ON dude! I asked you why you're spending so much time with Ryan Evans lately."

"I don't know." Chad gave him a look that said he wasn't buying it. "Well, I guess I just think he's a pretty interesting person to talk to and be around."

"And?"

"And that's it," Troy said.

"Are you sure that's all?"

"Yeah." Troy was starting to get uncomfortable now. "Uh, shouldn't we be heading off to class now?"

"Yeah. We wouldn't want to be late to the first day of the new semester," Chad said with loads of sarcasm.

"Well do you really want to be late to class?"

"No, I guess not. Oh! Did you hear that we've got four new students today?"

"Really? Where from?"

"From that weird cult."

"Which one?"

"Um, what is it they call them? Oh, the Power Keepers."

"Really? I thought they never left their little town."

"Apparently changed their minds. But it's only those four." At this point, they had gotten to their homeroom class and went to sit down. Ms. Darbus went to the front of the room and addressed the class.

"Hello class and welcome back after your long weekend. I have some very exciting news for you. We have four new students joining us today. Now as I am sure many of you already know, they were raised in a culture that is different from ours and they may feel a bit uncomfortable here. So I want you all to give them a warm East High welcome and be as hospitable as possible." She then turned and stuck her head out of the classroom. "You may all come in now." She then came back inside the classroom.

"Class, I would like to introduce you to Aaron Gratzen, Alexandra Kratz, Devin Masters, and Evan Masters." They each came into the classroom in the order that Darbus had introduced them in. Troy felt a bit frightened when Aaron walked in. The guy was huge! He was about six foot two and looked like pretty much every inch of him was muscle. Troy was fairly sure that this guy could tear him in half if he had the urge to. He could totally picture Aaron leaping on him with his claws, razor sharp teeth, and that yellow and brown coat. Wait. Why was he picturing Aaron as a jaguar? Maybe he really was going crazy like Chad seemed to think he was.

Next came Alexandra. "Dude, I think we found you a new girlfriend," Chad said from his left. Troy had to admit that she was stunning. Tall, brown hair, green eyes, and the kind of curves that most girls would commit first degree murder for. The thing is, Troy didn't find himself attracted to her at all. Once again, he was probably going insane. Or something else.

The Masters brothers actually came in at the same time. Devin looked like he was probably not going to have any trouble getting a date if he wanted to, but that was about as far as Troy's analysis went. He probably would have gone more in-depth, but he was too distracted by the other brother. Evan was about Troy's height and had light brown hair that was about the same length as Ryan Evans' hair. His eyes were a blue that was so pure that it didn't seem natural. It was almost as if his eyes could pierce anything and look straight into the heart of it. He wasn't at all sure why, but Troy was extremely intrigued by this boy.

After the little introduction, the new kids found some empty seats and sat down. Much to Troy's dismay, Evan sat in the seat directly to his right. How could he stare at the object of his strange and unexplainable fascination without getting caught if the guy was right next to him?

Well Evan made it a little bit easier by talking to him. "Hi, I'm Evan," he said. "What's your name?"

"Uh, I'm, uh…" Troy found himself dumbfounded and unable to put a sentence together.

Luckily for him, Ryan turned around at this point and filled in the blanks. "That's Troy Bolton, the star of the basketball team here at East High. Don't worry, he does talk. Today's just a bit of an off day for him. Am I right, Mr. Bolton?" he turned to Troy.

"Right. Sorry," Troy said. "First morning after a long weekend. I guess I'm just a little tired from all the excitement."

Evan laughed. "It's fine. My tongue gets a bit tied up sometimes too. Especially when I'm not completely in my head."

_"Wow. He has a really cool laugh."_ Troy thought to himself. _"Wait. How can a guy's laugh be __**cool**__? You really are starting to get weird, Troy."_ Why was he acting like this?

"Stop it," Devin said from the other side of Evan. Troy wondered who he was talking to. Then he looked at Devin to find his eyes boring into him with a significant amount of anger in them.

"Stop what?" Troy asked.

"Stop looking at my brother like that," he said. Troy was really glad it wasn't Aaron doing this, because right now it looked like Devin really wanted to tear Troy in half. Or spit fire at him.

Evan, on the other hand, looked like he wanted to crawl under a rock. "Will you just _calm down?_" he hissed at Devin. "Please excuse my brother's behavior," he said as he turned back to Troy. "He never did learn his people skills very well." He shot another look at his brother.

"Oooooookay. Well we better focus on Ms. Darbus now," Troy said.

"Yeah," Ryan chimed in. "Otherwise you'll have to paint sets in detention."

They turned their attention back to Ms. Darbus and listened to her go on about opportunities in a new semester, and how everyone had a clean slate, and blah, blah, blah. Everyone sighed with relief when the bell rang and they were released.

Troy was glad to be out of there, because after Devin's little outburst, Aaron and Alexandra started giving him dirty looks too. Then he got this splitting headache and could have sworn he heard a girl's voice in his head screaming, "_**Who are you!?**_"

However, after getting out of the room, his head calmed down. He went to his next class, thrilled to be away from the new kids. Then, as everybody started entering the room, Troy saw Evan come in, followed by Devin. Devin seemed to have calmed down since homeroom. Evan once again sat next to Troy, and Devin sat next to Evan again. "Hi Troy," Evan said. "I guess we have class together again."

"Uh-huh," Troy responded. He was still a bit uneasy with both of them, especially with Devin, who still looked a bit unhappy with him. "So are you two, uh, twins?" he asked, trying to make the situation a bit less awkward with some small talk.

"Oh, definitely," Devin said. "We're identical, can't you tell? I mean, it should be obvious, with Ev's blue eyes and my green, or especially with how my hair is almost black and his is light brown."

Wow. That was the first time Troy had heard any kind of humor come out of Devin. It was rather unexpected. However, Evan looked a bit peeved.

"You know, you don't have to be such a smart ass, Dev," he snapped at his brother.

"No, I don't mind. It was funny," Troy said. At least now he wasn't fearing for his life quite as much.

"Yeah. See? He thinks I'm funny," Devin said with a smug look.

"Well I still say you're an ass," Evan replied moodily.

"But he's a funny ass," Troy said.

"Oh, so now _everybody's_ a comedian, right?"

"Everybody but you," Troy and Devin said at the same time. The three of them all burst into fits of laughter.

"Okay class, quiet down," Mrs. Impediman, their math teacher, said as she walked to the front of the room to start her lesson.

After math, Troy went on to his other classes. Devin and Evan were in every one of his classes. Alexandra was also in their English class, and she was more social this time too.

At lunch, Troy sat at his new official table, which was the drama club's table. He wasn't sitting there because he wasn't getting along with his team, it was just that he and Ryan Evans were getting be good friends now and Troy had been invited to sit with him. Sharpay even accepted him sitting there, just as long as he never tried bringing "that bitch Gabriella" with him. That was one of the few times Troy had actually agreed with Sharpay on anything.

Gabriella really had become kind of a bitch after the musical last year. She started pushing Troy around and acting like she owned him. The thing is, she didn't even like Troy that much. She had cheated on him several times during their relationship, and only wanted to do something "girlfriendy" when there were other people around. Her behavior just made it easier for Troy to break up with her.

Yes, Troy had already been planning to break up with Gabriella before. He just didn't have a good reason at first was that he was questioning his feelings for Gabriella. And not just her, but all girls. It's why he had been getting closer to Ryan. He was feeling confused and hoping that Ryan could help clear things up. Yeah, that wasn't exactly his best idea ever. Ryan's idea of helping him was unexpectedly kissing him, and then telling him that he felt nothing. Now Troy was even more confused. He was not attracted to girls anymore, but he didn't like any guys either. Except maybe…

No, He wasn't into the new kid. Was he? He really needed to talk to Ryan. "Hey Ryan…" he started.

"Yeah Troy?"

"I need to talk to you about something."

"Okay, shoot."

"Well it's about one of the new kids."

"You mean the ones that are walking right this way?"

Troy turned around and saw that, indeed, all four of the new kids were walking toward them. So much for talking to Ryan.

"Hi Troy!" Evan said as he plopped himself down in the empty seat on Troy's left. Devin sat on the other side of his brother. Aaron and Alexandra were standing awkwardly, staring at the full table.

"Where do we sit?" asked Aaron. Troy wasn't surprised to find that Aaron's voice was almost as scary as he was.

"Um, why don't you and Als find another table?" Evan said.

"But we're supposed to-" Aaron started. Alexandra, Devin, and Eva all shot looks at him. He froze up and his mouth seemed to get glued shut.

"It's okay," Alexandra said. "We'll just sit over there with Martha." They went and sat at a table that was about ten feet away from them, and where they could still see Devin and Evan very easily.

"So are you guys twins?" Ryan asked the Masters brothers.

"Oh yeah, you never did answer me when I asked that earlier," Troy said.

"Oh. Dev's my baby brother," Evan said.

"I'm only a year younger, Ev," Devin said, rolling his eyes. "I'm just so smart that I got to skip kindergarten," he gloated.

"Wow, kindergarten," Ryan said sarcastically. "You're soooo smart."

"I know."

"So are either of you going to join the drama club?" Sharpay asked.

"I was thinking I would," Devin said.

"Cool!" Ryan said excitedly. "So do you have acting class next?"

"Yeah. Do you have it too?"

"Yep! This will be really fun. Are you doing drama too, Evan?"

"No," Devin answered for him. "Evan's a sports guy."

That sparked Troy's interest. "Really? Do you play basketball?"

Evan grimaced. "Heck no. I cheer."

Troy burst out laughing. "Cheerleading's not a sport?"

Devin got a worried look on his face, while Evan looked pissed. Suddenly, the cafeteria lights all turned off. "Fire!" someone screamed. Troy turned in the direction of the scream. There was a large flame on the floor, but it disappeared almost immediately after he looked at it. The lights then came back on.

"Yes it is," Evan said in a strained voice.

"What?" Troy asked.

"Cheerleading," Evan explained. "It is a sport."

"Whatever," Troy said. He then stiffened up because Aaron was standing right behind him, looking like he meant business.

"Is everything alright here?" he asked.

"Yes Aaron, I'm fine." Evan seemed a bit annoyed.

"Are you sure? Because you just-" Evan shot Aaron a look and he stiffened and shut up like before.

"Just Head back off to your table, Ay," Evan said while waving his hand toward the table. Aaron walked back to the table in a zombie-like manner.

"What was that about?" Sharpay asked in a somewhat scared-sounding voice. Apparently, Aaron had that effect on everyone.

"Oh nothing," Devin said. "We've just all gotten close over the years, and Aaron is the massively overprotective big brother of the group."

"Okay," Sharpay said. The bell rang. "Oh shoot. There's the bell. Off to class then, I guess." They all stood up to head off to their classes.

"I can show you to the theater, Devin. Follow me!" Ryan said excitedly as he grabbed Devin's hand and dragged him out of the cafeteria.

"So what do you have now, Ev?" Troy asked.

"It's Evan," he corrected in an irritated voice, "and I have Phys Ed next."

"Really? Me too. I'll show you the way over there." They started walking toward the gym. "So you are a junior, but you don't have your P.E credits yet?"

"No. I'm just taking it to help me stay in shape for my _sport_." Evan seemed to be getting steadily more irritated. Troy was starting to wonder why.

"That's why I'm taking it too," Troy said. "Well here we are," he said as they got to the locker room door.

"I know, Troy. I had to come here this morning to get a locker and put my clothes away."

Troy was starting to get tired of this. "Okay, what's with the attitude? Did I do something?"

Evan let out a sigh. "No Troy, you've just been a perfect little angel today." Evan walked inside and Troy followed him.

Troy walked to his locker, and was surprised to find that Evan was opening the locker next to his. "Our lockers are right next to each other? That's cool."

"Yeah, super fun!" Evan said with sarcasm dripping from his every word.

Troy had finally had enough. "Seriously! What is your problem!?! Ever since lunch, you've been getting bitchier and bitchier with me! What. Is. The. Deal!?"

Evan stood with his mouth hanging open in shock.

"I'm sorry," Troy said, feeling bad about his little outburst. "I shouldn't have exploded on you like that. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or anything."

"No, it's not that," Evan said, finally coming back to himself. "It's just that I've never had a guy be that blunt with me before."

"Really? What, are all the guys terrified of you where you come from?" Troy asked jokingly.

"Actually, they are," he said while he began to change. Troy was about to ask what he meant, but froze up when he looked at Evan to see him in nothing but his boxer-briefs. The boy was in amazing shape. Troy stared for a few seconds as Evan pulled his shorts up. "What's wrong?" Evan asked. He noticed Troy staring. "Are you surprised that someone who's just a cheerleader is in such good shape?"

Troy snapped himself out of it. "Uh, yeah, that's it."

Evan laughed slightly to himself while he put his shirt on. "I told you that it was a real sport."

"Uh… sure," Troy said while he started to change. He found himself checking every once in a while to see if Evan was watching. When he was down to his boxers, he glanced over and saw Evan's eyes dart away. Troy blushed a bit and continued changing. He finished and said, "All done. So are you ready to head out to the gym?"

"Yep. Let's go."

They went out to the gym and were told which class they would be in. Evan was in Ms. Livingston's gymnastics class. "_That's not very surprising,"_ Troy thought to himself. "So what class am I in?" he asked, mot that he really needed to. He was always in his dad's basketball class.

Taylor McHessie, who had been put in charge of organizing the students, looked at the list. You're in Livingston's class Troy," she said.

"What!? But I'm supposed to be in my dad's class!"

"I'm sorry Troy, but all decisions here are final. You are in the gymnastics class and you can't switch out."

"That's bull crap!" Troy exclaimed.

"Once again, I'm sorry. Now please go to your designated group."

Troy angrily stomped over to the gymnastics group. At least Evan was in the group. That made things slightly better. They went into the gymnastics room and started working. First, the teacher wanted to see what they could do. They started with simpler things like cartwheels and just doing half and quarter turns on the beam. Then it started getting progressively harder. As they got to the harder skills, people started sitting down along the wall when they couldn't so the next thing. Eventually Troy had to sit with them and watch. Some people had experience and lasted for a while, but none of them were as good as Evan. He flew around on everything with an almost unearthly grace. Several more minutes passed, and Evan was the only one left. After finishing an insane beam routine that Ms. L asked him to do, he jumped down.

"Great job!" the teacher said. "How much experience have you had in gymnastics?"

"About two and a half years of class, and I've been cheering since sixth grade," he replied.

"Impressive. So you're a real athlete."

"Yep." He had a content, somewhat smug, look on his face as he turned and looked at Troy. The teacher had him go back with the rest of the class while she got ready for the class tomorrow. There were only a few minutes left to class now.

Evan stood next to Troy, bouncing back and forth with the smirk still on his face. "Okay, I get it. You can stop gloating now."

"Only if you say it."

"Oh you're just _loving_ this, aren't you?" Evan's smile simply got bigger in response. "Fine. Cheerleading is a real sport."

"And…?"

"And you were right."

"And…?"

"And I was wrong."

"And…?"

"And you're an asshole."

"But I'm a cute asshole, right?"

"I guess so. Wait. I didn't mean to…"

"It's fine Troy. Don't worry your pretty little head about it," Evan said.

"You think my head is pretty?" Troy asked.

"Sure." The bell rang. "Well I'm gonna head off now. See you later, Hun." He gave Troy a quick kiss on the cheek and ran off.

Troy touched the spot that Evan had kissed. _"What was that about? Is he…?"_ He stopped thinking about it and rushed off to the locker room, hoping to catch Evan before he left. When he got to his locker, Evan was already gone. _"I guess I'll have to talk to him about it tomorrow."_ He changed back into his school clothes and left the locker room to go to his last class, stagecraft.

Troy had been in basic stagecraft last semester and Mrs. Davis, the teacher for that class, had asked him to join the advanced class this semester. Ordinarily, he would have to take the design class before joining the advanced class. However, Davis said he was one of her best students and they were getting a bit short-handed lately. Several people had been dropping the class. Also, kids were starting to learn not to mess around in Darbus' class, so there were less detention helpers. That was why Davie was so desperate for help.

Troy was standing in front of the auditorium door. He opened the door and went inside. Davis saw him walk in and instantly got excited. "Troy! You're here!"

He ran down to her. "Yep!"

"Troy?" someone said behind him.

He turned around to see Evan, along with Ryan, Devin, Aaron, and Alexandra. "Hey. I didn't know you would be in this class," Troy said.

"Yeah. Devin, Alex, Aaron, and I all worked on the tech stuff at our school last semester," Evan explained.

"Cool."

"So you all know each other?" Davis asked. They nodded. "Great! Okay, let's get to work. We've got a lot to do."

"Is that one lump or two?" Ryan muttered in a very good impression of Angela Lansbury. Devin laughed, but then stopped when Davis started grouping them.

"Okay, Ryan and Devin, you're going to work on costumes. Alexandra…"

"I prefer Alex, actually."

"Okay. Alex, you and Aaron can join Henry and Trevin on platforms. And Troy and Evan, You'll be working with Julie and Michael on the thrones. Now everybody, get to work."

They all went off to do their jobs. Julie and Michael left to get wood and had Troy and Evan measure the already existing throne. Troy decided to take advantage of this time and talk to Evan.

"So what was that in the gym earlier?" he asked.

"What was what?"

"You kissed me."

"Oh, right. I'm sorry about that. I forget sometimes that kissing isn't always okay here. In our culture, you kiss your friends on the cheek to say goodbye. Well, the powerful and the fused do, anyway. The strong only do when addressed by a powerful or a fused."

"A what?"

"Sorry. Those are some terms that we use in my home town," Evan explained.

"Right. You know, I almost completely forgot where you came here from. Everyone was expecting you and the others to act weird and not fit in at all, but you're pretty similar to the other kids here."

"Yeah. Except for Aaron. Of course, Ay kind of stood out at home, too."

"I can see that. So you weren't… flirting with me?"

"There's no need for you to worry about being around me, Troy," Evan assured him.

"So you aren't gay?" Troy asked.

"Now I never said that."

"So you… ARE?"

"Julie is talking to Davie and getting some paint. She said she'll be back in about ten minutes," Michael said as he came back into the shop.

"Thanks," Evan said. "Oh, and Troy, the answer is yes. I am."

"You are what?" Michael asked.

"Gay," he said as casually as if he were talking about the weather.

"Really? Me too," Michael said. "So do you have a boyfriend?"

"Nope. Do you?" Evan asked.

"No. Would you like to go out some time?" Michael asked.

Troy was starting to feel uncomfortable. He had a strange feeling in his stomach and his face was starting to get hot. But why? Because they were flirting? It didn't bother him when Michael flirted with Ryan. So what could it be?

"You want to go out with me? Like on a date?" Evan asked Michael.

"Yeah. You know that you're really hot, right?"

_"Great. Michael the man-whore is at it again. I should probably try to warn Evan before things go too far,"_ Troy thought to himself. Michael was notorious for trying to get any guy he could get his hands on. Of course, he never really wanted to date them. He just wanted one thing.

"We could hang out at my house after school today," Michael suggested.

_"No! You keep your grubby little hands off of Evan! He's mine!"_ Troy screamed silently. _"Wait, what? No, not mine, but he's a friend and I don't want Michael messing with him."_

"You really think I'm hot?" Evan asked. Oh no, he was falling forit.

"Yeah. You're really good looking," Michael said as he reached out and started rubbing Evan's arm.

_"No!"_

"Aiiigh!"

"Eeeek!"

There were screams suddenly on both sides. Troy looked around. On his right, Julie was standing in the doorway of the shop with a can of paint. Most of the contents of the can were on her face, clothes, and in her hair.

Troy turned and looked to his left. Erika Fitzpatrick, one of the girls on props, was sitting on the floor holding a frozen paintbrush.

People started rushing into the shop. Everyone asked the same thing. "What happened?" Julie answered first.

"I was walking into the shop, then suddenly the top of the paint can flew off and the paint exploded all over me."

"Where's the lid now?" Mrs. Davis asked.

"There!" Erica Goldman, another one of the prop girls, yelled, pointing to the ceiling. The lid was stuck to the ceiling directly above Julie. She jumped aside just in time to avoid the lid as it fell down.

"What about you, Erika?" Davie asked as she turned to the other girl.

She still looked a bit dazed. "I was washing this paintbrush in the sink. Then the water shot out and got on the floor. After that, the water on the paintbrush froze solid and I slipped on this patch of ice and fell on my ass." Mrs. Davis shot her a look. "Sorry. I meant to say butt."

"It's okay. Now everybody, get back to work. And get things cleaned up in here." She left, along with most of the other kids. They left just Erika, Erica, and the throne crew to clean up mess. They finished just as the bell rang. Troy stood in the shop for a little bit.

_"Did I do that?"_ He wondered. This wasn't the first time something freaky had happened when he was upset. About two months ago, some of the football jerks were harassing Ryan in the locker room. Troy got angry, but didn't do anything about it. The next thing he knew, all the lockers burst open and the room filled with so much steam that it was impossible to see. Then the steam simply vanished, revealing that Ryan had gone from being thirty feet away to right next to Troy, with no idea how he got there. Also, the football guys' clothes had somehow found their way off of the guy's bodies and into their lockers. It had kind of freaked all of them out.

And of course, he couldn't forget the incident last week. He had a vivid and terrible nightmare. He was sure he had woken up, but he was floating six feet above his bed and fell a few seconds after waking up. He tried telling himself that he hadn't really woken up before, but he was still not convinced of that.

Troy decided to stop worrying about the weirdness until he got home. He walked out of the shop and overheard Evan talking to Aaron.

"I'll be fine, Ay," Evan said.

"But what if it happens again?" Aaron asked. "That was the second time today."

"I already told you, that wasn't me!"

"What about lunch?"

"I let my anger get the best of me, but it won't happen again."

"But what if it-"

"Hi Troy!" Evan pretended to just notice him. "So are you headed out now?"

"Yeah, I'm going to my locker right now."

"Can I walk with you?" Evan asked.

"Sure, I guess." They walked toward their lockers together. When they got to Troy's locker, he asked, "So where's your locker, Ev?"

"It's Evan, and my lockers right here," he said, pointing at the one to the right of Troy's.

"Really? Wow. We just have everything together, don't we?"

"I guess so. Well. I have to go. My ride's waiting for me."

"Yeah, me too," Troy said.

"You don't drive?"

"I do, but my mom took the day off and insisted on bringing me to school and picking me up today," Troy explained.

"Oh. Okay, well let's go." They both went outside.

"There she is!" they both said when they saw their rides, and ran over to them.

"Who's picking you up again?" Evan asked.

"My mom," Troy said, pointing at the silver minivan they were standing in front of. "What about you?"

"My host mother," Evan said, pointing at the same van.

"I think you're confused," Troy said.

"No, I think _you_ are confused," Evan said.

"Boys, you're both right," Lucille Bolton said as she got out of the car.

"What?!" They asked, shocked.

"I'm Troy's mother," she said to Evan, "and Evan and Devin are living with us," she explained to Troy.

The rear door of the van opened and Devin popped his head out. "Come on guys. Let's go!"

They all got in the van and Mrs. Bolton started driving home. On the way, Troy said, "So mom, you didn't tell me they were staying here."

"I thought it would be a nice little surprise for you. Especially after I met them this morning. I just knew you'd be great friends."

"But where in the house are they staying?"

"In Billy's room. We already got another bed in there."

"But isn't _Will_ coming to visit for a week starting this Friday?"

"Yes. We'll figure out a sleeping arrangement when we need to. Don't worry dear."

"Okay." They pulled into the driveway. Troy's mother got out of the car and immediately went in the house, saying that she was starting dinner.

"So who's Billy?" Evan asked.

"Will is my brother. He's two years older than me, and he absolutely hates being called Billy. I think that's the only reason my parents still call him that." Troy explained.

"Why would they want to make him mad?" Devin asked.

"They're still kind of mad at him."

"About what?" Evan asked.

"Justin."

"And Justin is…?"

"His boyfriend."

Devin got visibly pale. "Do they have issues with him being gay?" he asked, glancing at his brother.

"No," Troy said. "Well, my dad isn't in love with the idea, but he is okay with it."

"Then why are they mad?" Evan asked.

"Because he never actually told them. They found out last year when they walked in on him and Justin… uh, yeah. Why don't we head inside the house now?"

Evan laughed and they went inside. Devin looked confused. "Wait. I don't get it. What happened?"

"Why don't I show you your room," Troy said, avoiding the question.

"Sounds good," Evan said.

_"We'll explain it when we get in there, Dev."_ Weird. Troy could have sworn he just heard Evan's voice, but he hadn't moved his lips at all. He shook it off and led them to their room, which was right next to his. After they were all in the room, Devin closed the door.

"Okay. So what happened?" he asked.

Troy got visibly uncomfortable. "Well, my parents found out about Will when they came home early one night from a party and caught him and Justin… well, you know."

"No, I don't know! Can you please just tell me already!?"

"They were going at it," Troy said, clearly embarrassed.

"Going at _what!?_"

"Oh my _goodness_ Dev! You know, you can be really dense sometimes," Evan said.

"Well I don't get it!"

"Here's a hint, bud: Boing boing," Evan said, bouncing one hand vertically on the other.

"Ooooooooh!" Devin exclaimed. "Now I get it."

"How did that explain it" Troy asked.

"When you watch as much Buffy and Angel as we do, it makes sense," Evan told him.

"Okay. Well I'm going to put my stuff in my room," Troy said. He went to his room and opened the door, releasing a brown and white blur. He set his stuff down and heard a scream come from the room next door.

"Augh! Get it away from me!"

Troy ran into the room to find Evan on the floor laughing, Devin standing on a bed looking terrified, and a hyper beagle at the bottom of the bed, wanting to jump on him.

"Max. Come here, boy." Troy said. The dog ran over to Troy and he started petting it. "So I'm guessing you don't like dogs?" he asked Devin.

Devin had calmed down and gotten off of the bed. "It's not that I don't like them It's just…"

"It's just that he's a weenie and can't handle them jumping on him," Evan said.

"I'm not a weenie! I just don't handle the high energy animals very well." Devin defended himself.

"That's fine," Troy said. "I have trouble with it too. But you don't have to worry about Max. He doesn't bite. He's a little sweetheart. Aren't you Max?" he rubbed Max's belly.

Devin tentatively walked over and pet him. After a while, he seemed to get much calmer. "So how was your day, Devin?" Troy asked.

"Pretty good. I would think you'd already know that since we have almost every class together."

"Yeah, but what about acting?"

"I loved it! Darbus is a little crazy, but we played some games today and got to talk to Ryan some more. He's really cool, and really funny too!" He said all of this in the span of about six seconds. Troy laughed. "What?" Devin asked.

"You have a little crush, don't you?" Troy said.

"On who? Ryan?" Troy nodded. _**"NO"**_ Devin screamed. "Why would you even ask that!? I'm not fused, so how could I possibly have a crush on a strong!?"

"Devin!" Evan yelled at him. "Calm down! He doesn't know whether you're fused or strong… Or powerful," he said with a smirk.

"Well I'm clearly not powerful," Devin said, shooting his brother a dirty look.

"Well Troy doesn't know that for sure. I mean, you've never dropped your pants in front of him before."

This was getting to weird for Troy. "Enough!" he said. "Now can you guys please explain what the heck you're talking about?"

"Sure," Evan said. "What do you want to know?"

"Well to start, what do all those terms you use mean?"

"Like fused, strong, and powerful?" Troy nodded.

"Strong means male, powerfuls are the females, and the fused are the homosexuals," Devin shot out.

"Okay, but why those terms?" Troy asked.

"Um, I think that's more of a topic for another day," Devin said.

"Okay." Troy let it go, but he was still wondering about the strange Power Keepers.

**Author's Note:** So there you go. This is my new story. Let me know what you think of it. I really do want to know. Just so you know, I am almost done writing the next chapter of my first story, so I'll have it up in the next few weeks.


	2. Get Out of My Head!

-1**Disclaimer:** So I realized I forgot to put one of these in the first chapter. Disney, please don't sue me. I do not claim to own High School Musical. It is not my property in the very least bit.

**Warnings:** Once again, this is a slash story. MALES HAVING RELATIONSHIPS TOGETHER. Just want to make sure that's clear. Also, it's rated M, and the language gets worse in this one. Just be forewarned.

**Freak**

**Chapter 2: Get Out of My Head!**

The next day, Troy drove Devin, Evan, and himself to school. "So I've got practice after school until five today," he told them. "I don't know if you want to wait around school, or find another way home, or what."

"Well, the cheerleaders are being nice and letting me try out for the squad after school today. They're in pretty desperate need for more guys, so it really wasn't all that hard to convince them to consider letting me in," Evan said. "That shouldn't take more than twenty minutes or so. I was thinking I'd help Davie with stuff after school today anyways, so I can do that until you're done.

"Okay. What about you, Devin?"

"Well, the guy who was originally cast as the jester had to drop out of the play, so Darbus made me the new jester. We have rehearsal until five, so I'll be fine."

"Great. I'll meet you both here right after five then." They went into the school for another exciting day of classes.

Troy was extremely glad that Aaron and Alex were feeling a little more "warm and fuzzy" today. He really didn't want to have Aaron as his enemy. Alex was just as frightening, really, just in her own special way. She felt more like she'd simply make your life a living hell if you got on her bad side, as opposed to Aaron, who felt like he'd tear you limb from limb.

When they first came into homeroom, they still seemed hesitant to warm up to Troy. However, after exchanging a few looks with Evan, they relaxed and opened up to Troy. To Troy, it was almost as if they had had a completely wordless conversation with Evan. But after their "nonversation," Alex and Aaron actually seemed to be making an effort to befriend Troy. He did his best to be friendly back to them, but he was still stiff and uncomfortable. He hoped that they hadn't noticed.

At lunch, he found out that he hadn't done a very good job of hiding it. Evan and Devin sat with him at lunch again. A few minutes in, Evan asked, "So why are you so weird around Aaron and Alex?"

"No offense Evan, but your friends scare the shit out of me."

Devin burst out laughing. "That is great! I don't think I've ever heard anyone phrase it quite like that before. Don't worry Troy, those two have that effect on everyone. Even the elders are uncomfortable around them. They're a rather terrifying duo."

"They are, but you don't have to worry Troy. They won't do anything to you. Just stay on their good sides."

"I'll deep that in mind."

**-FREAK-HSM-FREAK-HSM-FREAK-HSM-FREAK-HSM-FREAK-HSM-FREAK-HSM-FREAK-**

After lunch, Troy found himself staring at Evan again before, during, and after Phys Ed. He told himself that during class, he stared because Evan was so talented and fluid. Before and after, though, he couldn't come up with a good excuse for why he did it. Luckily, Evan didn't seem to notice this time.

The two of them made their way to Stagecraft together. On the way, a thought occurred to Troy. "So Evan, I saw you talking to Michael yesterday."

"Yeah. He's nice. He actually asked me out."

"Are you going to say yes?"

"I think so. I've actually never been on a date."

"Well don't go out with him."

"Why?" Do you not approve of him or something?" he asked, sounding a bit agitated.

"No, I don't," Troy told him.

"Why? Because he's a guy?"

"No! I don't care about you being gay, you know that. I just don't think that you should throw yourself at the first guy that looks your way."

"That's easy for you to say, Troy! From what I've heard, you have girls throwing themselves at you every day!" At this point, they were in front of the auditorium door and trying to keep their voices down.

"That's not the point Evan. The point is-"

"The point is you don't want anyone else to be happy and dating if you have to be miserable and single!"

"That's not true! The guy's a jerk, and I don't want you getting hurt."

I can stand up for myself Troy, so just back off." He turned to open the door.

Troy grabbed his arm. "Evan, wait."

"I said back off!" He turned back around. Suddenly, Troy felt like an invisible fist punched him in the stomach and he went flying across the hallway. He hit the wall and sat there, wondering exactly how it was that he got there.

Evan looked thoroughly scared and freaked out. "Troy, are you okay?" he asked when he finally found his voice.

"Yeah, I think so," Troy said. He was still a little bit dazed.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do that. Oh, Aaron's going to freak. Do you need help?" He walked toward Troy.

"No! Stay away from me!" Troy held his hand out in front of him. He felt his hand get hot, but then the heat seemed to shoot out of his hand. The next thing he knew, Evan smashed into the auditorium door. _"What the fuck?" _ Troy thought to himself.

Evan slowly stood up, smiling slightly at Troy. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?" Troy asked back.

Before Evan had a chance to answer, Devin, Aaron, and Alex burst out of the auditorium. "What happened?" Devin asked as he ran to his brother.

Aaron stepped in front of Evan and started walking toward Troy. "What did you do to him?" he asked menacingly.

"I didn't do anything to him."

"Don't lie to me." Troy noticed a change in Aaron's eyes. It made him feel a bit uneasy. Aaron saw this and smiled. His teeth were razor sharp. He got on all fours as if he were about to pounce.

"Alex, do something about him," Evan said. Alex seemingly glided over to Aaron and blew in his ear. He immediately fell to the floor on his back and stopped moving. He remained stiff on the floor, but his eyes darted around and shot angry looks at Alex and Troy.

"W-what did you do to him?" Troy asked nervously.

"Don't worry," Alex said. "I just-"

Mrs. Davis came out of the auditorium. She looked around wide-eyed at the scene before her. "What is going on here?" she demanded. Alex glided over and tapped her forehead with her forefinger. Troy thought he saw a light come from Alex's finger before she stepped away from the teacher. Mrs. Davis was standing with a spacey look on her face.

Alex leaned in to Davie and spoke directly into her ear. "Everything's fine. There was a boy that was giving Evan some trouble, but Troy, being the hero that he is, ended it without any violence and all is well now, so please go back into the auditorium.

Mrs. Davis got steadily less spacey looking and went back in her room. "We'd better get in there or she'll come back out," Devin said. Evan, Alex, and Aaron nodded and started to go into class.

"Wait!" Troy turned and faced Troy. "What the hell is going on here?"

"Nothing," Aaron said dumbly.

"Yeah right. I'm not going back in there until you tell me!"

"There's not enough time for this right now," Alex said hurriedly.

"I don't care! Now tell me!" Troy was starting to raise his voice.

"I promise I'll explain when we get home," Evan told him.

Troy wanted to argue, about this more, but he trusted Evan. "Okay, but as soon as we get home, you have to explain."

"I will." Evan assured him. Troy believed him. He couldn't explain why, but he felt he could put his complete trust in Evan.

"Okay," Troy said again, and they all went into class.

As they got to work, Troy noticed that Evan immediately started staring at Michael. _"After that whole confrontation he still interested in that guy!?"_ Troy thought to himself in disbelief. Michael saw Evan staring at him and started walking toward him. As he got close, Evan's face scrunched up like he saw or smelled something nasty. "So Evan," he started.

"No."

"What?"

"You heard me Michael," Evan said. "No."

"But you don't even know what I was going to say."

"Yes I do. You were going to ask me out again."

"Yeah, but you keep saying no." Michael said. He was obviously confused, which was understandable. Michael got pretty much any guy he wanted, though Ryan had somehow found a way to evade him.

"I keep saying no because I don't want to," Evan walked away and went on working. Troy had to resist the urge to laugh at Michael's open-mouthed dumbfounded expression.

_"Good for you Evan."_

After school, Troy went to practice, Evan went to his tryouts, and Devin went to rehearsal. Practice for Troy was completely normal. No exploding paint cans or flying teens. When he finished, he to his truck to wait for Devin and Evan. Evan was already waiting there for him.

_"Great. I can just ask him about it now."_

"You still have to wait until we get home, Troy," Evan said as Troy approached the truck.

"Okay. I guess I can wait fifteen more minutes. So where is your brother?"

"He should be on his way. Anne was taking some measurements for his costume. There he is."

Devin had just come out of the building and was walking toward them. "Hey guys. Sorry I'm late. Anne needed me measured so they can get right to work on the costume. Apparently they have big plans for it."

"It's fine." Troy said. "So let's go."

"Anxious much?" Devin asked him.

"Do you really blame him, Dev?" Evan asked him.

"I guess not. Let's go." They got in the truck and Troy started driving home. "So Ev, how did your tryouts go?" Devin asked his brother.

"Oh yeah. I meant to ask you about it too," Troy said.

"I went great. They're ordering my uniform this week and I start practice with the squad on Monday."

"Awesome! You know, I really didn't doubt that you would make it," Devin said. "You were the best one on the squad back home. The only reason you weren't captain was that Cynthia Newland wanted her sister to succeed her."

"Please don't mention the Newland sisters. I'm finally away from them and I would really like to keep it that way."

"Who are the Newland sisters?" Troy asked.

"Oh, they're not important," Devin said, trying to get Troy to drop it.

"But I want to know." Apparently he wasn't taking the hint. "So who are they?"

"They're just these bitches that ran the school with an iron fist. One was a senior, one was a junior, and one was a sophomore. Cynthia, the former captain, graduated last year. She made her equally evil sister Angelica the new captain, just to keep the power in the nasty little manicured claws of the Newlands. They think that just because their grandfather was fused and they have better control that it gives them permission to harass and manipulate everyone around them."

"So I'm guessing that you don't like them," Troy said.

"I didn't have a problem with them at first. They started it. They decided that I was a threat and started working against me."

"And why did they see you as a threat?" Troy asked.

"I'll explain when we get home."

"Well we're here, so explain."

"Can we wait until we get inside?"

"Sure." They went inside. Troy put his things in his room and met up with the brothers in their room. "So can you tell me what the hell going on now?"

"Sure," Evan said, "but you have to answer my question first."

"Okay. Shoot."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?" Troy asked back.

"That you are fused." Devin gasped at his bother's statement.

"What does that mean again?" Troy asked.

"You're gay," Evan stated simply.

"I'm _what!?_" Troy yelled.

"He's _what?!"_ Devin yelled at the same time.

"Why would you think I'm gay?" Troy asked Evan. Troy himself still wasn't sure weather he was gay or not. Why was a kid who had only just met him so sure that he was?

"What you did today. You have powers. So unless you're actually a very well disguised woman, you're gay. Only fused and powerful have powers."

"And the powerful are?"

"Women," Evan said.

"Okay, I'm even more confused now."

"Well why don't I start from the beginning?" Evan suggested.

"That'd be great," Troy agreed.

"Okay, so a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…" Troy gave him a look of disbelief. "Just kidding. But it was a long time ago. People found that women could use these extraordinary powers and do amazing things. They also found that men could summon extreme strength when needed. They could also take the form of an animal and use its abilities. No matter how strong women were, they could never summon up the extreme strength that the men could, nor shift in the same way that they could. Likewise, men couldn't use the powers that the women could. However, they eventually found that some men could use these powers, though it was not known what made them so special. Over time the abilities died out and weakened. Most men forgot how to call the strength up at will and lost the shifting ability. The women's powers became weaker and significantly less common. After that, those who still had control of the abilities became viewed as unique. Sometimes they were worshipped, and other times simply feared. Many of the legends of gods come from fused or powerful that have revealed themselves. They are also where the stories of witches stemmed from."

"Wait, you still haven't really explained the fused," Troy said.

"He was getting there," Devin snapped at him.

"Sorry," Troy apologized.

"It's fine. So anyways, people in more modern times feared those who displayed the abilities, so they had to become more secretive. Also, in the last few centuries, they discovered what all of the men with powers had in common. They were all homosexuals. Also, the power was much stronger in the men and didn't die out as much over the years. They called the m the fused because they believed it was a fusion of male and female characteristics that awoke the power in them and made it so strong. I think that's a load of crap, because you don't have to be feminine to be gay. So there you go. Now you know 'what the hell is going on.' Any questions?"

"Uh, yeah. So you're saying that you have like superpowers or something because you're gay?"

"Exactly. And you too."

"What makes you so sure of that?" Troy said, getting defensive again.

"You threw me across the room without touching me. That's proof enough for me."

"You tripped," Troy said lamely.

"And what about the exploding paint can and frozen paint brush incident?" Evan asked.

"That was you?" Devin asked Troy amazedly.

"No. Well, I don't think so at least."

"Well it wasn't me," Evan said.

"Then maybe it was Michael," Troy suggested.

"Oh please. I read him and he barely has any power coming off of him. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was straight."

"But there's still a chance that it was him, isn't there Ev?" Devin asked.

"Yeah, but it's highly unlikely. And…" Troy felt a pressure inside his head. "And what about what happened in the locker room with Ryan?"

"How did you know about that?" Troy asked nervously.

"That doesn't matter. That was you, wasn't it?" Evan asked him again.

"I, well, that could've been Ryan."

"Okay, well…" Evan stared intently at Troy and Troy felt the pressure again. "Was your brother here when you woke up floating off of your bed?"

"No." Troy didn't bother to ask how Evan knew about that. He was starting to figure it out. "But I'm not entirely sure that it really happened."

"Oh come on Troy. Does this really have to be so difficult?" Troy felt the pressure coming in again.

He pushed it out violently. "Get the fuck out of my head!" he screamed. Evan fell on the floor with a look of surprise.

"Wow! That was impressive! Not many people can push me out, especially so forcefully."

Devin was smirking at Troy. "What?" Troy asked him. Devin didn't answer. "What is so funny?" he asked again.

"Well, I think it's funny that by trying so hard to prove that you aren't gay, you actually practically proved that you are."

"How is that exactly?"

"If you were straight you might have the passive ability to block him, but you wouldn't be able to force him out after he got in. It takes the power to do that."

Evan nodded. "He's right."

"Wait. If I have powers, then why couldn't you 'read' it off me like you did with Michael?"

Devin turned to his brother. "Yeah, why couldn't you read him?"

"He blocks me most of the time. It broke down a little just now because he was upset. Ever since Alex harassed him during homeroom yesterday, the barrier's been so strong that nothing's fazed it. It's back up now, and as strong as ever."

"So you can't read me because I'm subconsciously protecting myself from you?"

"Right. So can you just skip over all the dramatics and be truthful with us?"

"Okay. The thing is, I guess I have been questioning my feelings lately. But I wasn't quite sure that I really was gay."

"But you are now, right?" Devin asked.

"If I go by what you say, sure, but I don't see how I can be if I'm not even attracted to any guys."

"Not at all?" Evan asked. "Are you attracted to any girls then?" There was the question that Troy was dreading. How could he answer it?

"Uh, no," he admitted.

"Can you at least say that there are some guys that you think are good looking?"

"Yes. Okay, so maybe I lied before. I have been attracted to a guy before."

"Really? Who?" Devin asked. Evan shot him a look that said something along the lines of, "We just started to crack him. Don't chase him back into his shell!"

"Ryan Evans," Troy told them. Devin's mouth fell open. Evan just smiled.

"You can't go out with Ryan," Devin blurted out.

"Why can't he?" Evan asked his brother. "Ryan's a nice guy, and he's pretty good looking."

"Because, because, because…" Devin couldn't find the right words.

"Don't worry. I don't want to," Troy assured him.

"You don't?" both Masters brothers asked with identical looks of confusion on their faces.

"No. You asked if I'd ever been attracted to a guy, so I told you I liked Ryan. I didn't say I still do."

"So you liked Ryan before, but you don't anymore?" Evan asked to clarify.

"Yes. I actually told him, but it resulted in just some embarrassment for me."

"So you are gay?" Devin asked. He was still confused by Troy's being so cryptic.

"I, yeah, I guess I am. But I'm not quite ready to come out yet, so could you please not tell anybody?"

"Of course. You're secret's safe with us Troy. Right Dev?"

"Right Ev."

"I'll just warn you now though," Evan told him. "You're not going to be able to keep your secret for very long if you hang out with people like me and Ryan. People are bound to start questioning you if you hang out with gay guys all the time."

"I know that. I just need a little more time."

"That's fine," Evan told him. "I just wanted to warn you."

"Thanks for that," Troy was silent for a little while. Then, "So do you think that you can train me in controlling my powers? I mean, you have good control over yours, right?"

"Yeah, I guess. I haven't really mastered everything yet, but I should be able to teach you for a while at least."

"Cool. Just as long as we don't have to start with like clean the toilet bowl, or wax on, wax off, or something else along those lines."

Evan laughed. "No, we can get straight to it, though we will have to start with the simpler and more boring stuff first."

"That's okay. So what do we do first?"

"First we work on letting you hear me."

"Hear you? No offense Evan, but my hearing's fine."

"I didn't mean with your ears. I meant in your mind. Those with powers can talk to other people mentally without speaking out loud. People without powers can speak to those with powers, but not to those without, unless they have someone with powers to act as a channel between them."

"So how do you do it?" Troy asked.

"Just think what you want to say and try to direct it toward me."

"Okay." Troy tried doing it. He started with just asking repeatedly if Evan could hear him. After doing this about twenty times with no reaction, he got bored and started throwing out random insults. After the fourth one, Evan finally reacted.

"I am not! _You're_ a butt face." They both laughed. Devin was just sitting on his bed and watching them awkwardly while petting Max. He had quickly gotten over his fear and the two of them were fast friends.

"So I think you've gotten the hang of that. Now let's work on you hearing me. I'll send messages at you. What I need you to do is focus. Now this is going to sound cheesy and cliché, but I need you to look deep within yourself. You need to open the part of your mind that is blocking the messages. Once you open it, you shouldn't have to do it again unless you go all defensive again from someone trying to pry into your head. Also, I'll let you know that you'll still be protected from any mind reading. So just focus on trying to let me in to that one part. I'll be loud so that you can find my voice easier."

"Okay," Troy closed his eyes and concentrated. At first he wondered what he was supposed to be looking for. Then he heard a very faint noise. He focused on the sound and moved toward it inwardly. As he got to where the sound was, Troy was stopped abruptly. Just in front of the sound, he could feel a barrier blocking it away. He focused harder, now on getting rid of the barrier. It stood strong at first, but then it just vanished.

_"I LOVE YOU! YOU LOVE ME! WE'RE A HAPPY FAMILY!"_

Troy's eyes flew open. "Whoa! Stop!"

The horrible song stopped and Evan laughed. "Sorry, but I told you I was going to be loud."

"Yes, but did it have to be a Barney song?"

"You did it to him too?" Devin asked, looking at his brother. Evan smiled and nodded. "So which song did he throw at you?" he asked Troy.

"It was _I Love You_, from the end of the show."

"I'm sorry. At least you don't have to deal with him shooting those songs at you in the middle of class. He loves to torture me with it."

"Yep. It's great fun, especially since he can't do anything about it. So good job Troy. I think that's good for today. We can work more later."

"Okay. I need to work on my homework anyways."

"Yeah, I do too," Devin said as he stood up from the bed. They all then got started doing their homework.

Shortly after finishing, Troy remembered something that had been bugging him. "So Evan,"

"Yeah?"

"You said that the Newland sisters' grandfather was fused. How exactly does that work? At first I assumed that meant their mom or dad was adopted, but then I thought about it a bit more and it just doesn't make sense."

"Can I answer him?" Devin asked.

"Why?" Evan asked him.

"Because you always get to explain everything, and I never do."

"Okay, sure."

"Awesome. Okay, so the Newland sisters all have fairly strong powers through blood. Because their grandfather was fused, it passed down to them and made them fairly powerful."

"Okay, but how exactly are they blood relatives to him?" Troy asked.

"I was getting there. He didn't accept at first that he was fused, and had a girlfriend. He got her pregnant at nineteen, and a week after she found out, he came out. It was a rather awkward situation, but it all ended up going well, and it resulted in the sisters' mother."

"Okay, I get it now. Thanks."

_"That's one more of their many mysteries solved,"_ Troy thought to himself.

**-FREAK-HSM-FREAK-HSM-FREAK-HSM-FREAK-HSM-FREAK-HSM-FREAK-HSM-FREAK-**

For the rest of the week, Evan trained Troy for an hour or so each day after school. Troy had gotten really good at the communication that they had been working on, and Evan had decided to move on to mind reading. Troy didn't catch on to this quite as fast. He practiced on his parents at home, since Devin and Evan were both protected, and on just about everyone else at school. Finally on Friday, he had heard someone else's thoughts. He immediately wished he hadn't.

The person whose mind he was able to read was Michael's. Of course, he had to read him just at the moment when Michael was fantasizing about having a three-way with Troy and Evan. It was extraordinarily disturbing. Troy told Evan about it after school while they waited for Devin to finish rehearsal.

"That's really funny, but also rather creepy," Evan said after Troy told him.

"No kidding. I didn't even know he thought about me like that."

"Of course he thinks about you like that."

"But he doesn't even really know that I'm gay. Most people haven't even suspected it until recently."

"That doesn't matter. He's a horny little creep, and you're one of the sexiest guys in school. Of course he's going to fantasize about you."

"Did you just say you thought I was sexy?" Troy asked, smiling and blushing a bit.

"No, I said that he does. And most of the rest of the school. Now don't go having a big head and thinking that everyone wants to jump your bones, because they don't."

"I know that."

"Well that's good, because I can do a lot of things, but I can't cure big headedness. Well, I can, but only on people I don't like because I have to be jerkish and it usually makes them pretty mad."

Troy laughed. "I guess it's good that I don't have a big head then, isn't it?"

"Yep." They both laughed together. "It's actually thoughts like that that told me you were right about Michael. The day that I rejected him, I read his mind to see what kind of things were going on in there. As he was walking toward me, he was thinking, and I quote, 'I would really like to screw that sexy little ass of his.' There were also a few other vulgar things going through his head."

"Wow. He really is a horny creeper." Troy said.

"Yeah." They both shuddered and started laughing again.

"Hey, what are you guys laughing at?" Devin asked as he walked up to them.

"Nothing," they told him.

"Okay, whatever. If you don't want to tell me that's fine. So are we off to the house now?"

"Yeah." Troy got into the driver's seat and the brothers followed him into the truck. As they pulled up to the house, Evan tensed up.

"Someone's in the house," he said. "And it's not either of your parents."

"Really? Then who is it?" Troy asked as they got out of the truck.

"I don't know, but be careful going in there."

Troy walked up to the door and found that it was unlocked. He prepared himself for what might happen. "Hello?" he said as he entered.

_"Real smart Troy. If there is a robber or a psycho in here, then let's just announce our presence to them,"_ Evan scolded silently.

"Troy?" a voice asked from the kitchen.

"Justin?" Troy asked back. A somewhat short young man with curly brown hair walked into the room in response.

"Hi there Troy."

"Hi. I didn't know that you were coming too."

"I think your brother wanted to keep it that way so your parents wouldn't freak out."

"I hate to break it to you, but this might actually make it worse."

Justin sighed. "I know, but Will really wanted to come visit and really wanted me to come along. He figured that if he told them first, they wouldn't have let us come."

"Sure they would have. They like you. Well my mom does at least. My dad does too. It's just different with him. So where is Will anyway?"

"He just took our stuff up to his room. We got here about ten minutes ago." Just as he finished talking, they heard someone coming down the stairs.

"Holy crap, there's two of them!" Devin exclaimed as the newcomer entered the room.

The young man before them looked a lot like his brother, only slightly taller and with short, lighter brown hair. When he saw Troy, a dazzling smile lit up his face. They were definitely related. "Troy!" He ran over and hugged him. "It's so great to see you. Okay, I have a question."

"What?" Troy asked as Will released him.

"What's with all the stuff and the extra bed in my room?"

"Oh, that's Evan and Devin's stuff," Troy said.

"Who are Evan and Devin?" Troy pointed behind him with his thumb. Will looked behind Troy and jumped a bit, just realizing that there were two strangers standing behind his brother. Troy laughed. His brother had a tendency to be completely oblivious of everything other than what he was focusing all of his attention on. "Uh, hi," he said hesitantly to the brothers.

"HI," Evan said, stepping forward and holding out his hand. "I'm Evan Masters. Nice to meet you."

"Yeah, you too," Will said, shaking Evan's hand. "And this is?" he asked, nodding toward Devin.

"I'm Devin Masters," Devin introduced himself, also shaking Will's hand.

"Evan and Devin? Wow, were your parents trying to make things difficult for you?" Justin asked, chuckling.

Evan laughed too. "We've wondered the same thing multiple times."

"Wait, so why are you here?" Will asked. "And why is your stuff in my room?"

"They're living here," Troy told him. "They are in kind of a foreign exchange program and we're their host family."

"When did this happen?"

"Monday."

Why am I the last to know about it?"

"Because you weren't here."

"Yeah, but mom and dad knew I was coming, and they just decide to fill my room up? I mean, no offense to you guys. It was just unexpected."

"None taken," Evan said. "I'd probably be a bit upset too. Actually, I kind of am, since we still don't know where we're going to be sleeping while you're here."

"Well, it's nice to see that some things don't change," Will said. "Mom's still incapable of planning ahead."

"Yep." Troy heard a car door close outside. "There's dad. Let the fun begin."

Jack Bolton walked in and greeted everyone. "Hi Troy, Evan, Devin."

"Hi dad," Will said, stepping forward.

"Billy, you're here." Troy saw Will cringe a bit at the nickname. Jack's eyes drifted further back and settled on Justin. "Oh, and you, uh, brought Justin with you," he said very awkwardly.

"Hello Mr. Bolton. It's nice to see you again."

"Uh, yes, you too. So where are you staying Justin?"

_"There's my dad for you. Terrible at subtlety and always straight to the point,"_ Troy commented to Evan. He saw Evan crack a slight smile.

"He's staying here," Will said as he walked over to Justin and held his shoulders protectively. "You don't have a problem with that, do you dad?"

"Uh, of course not. So he will be sleeping…"

"In my room." Will was clearly not happy.

"Huh, well, I, uh…" Jack didn't seem to know what to say. "I'm going to call your mother." He rushed out of the room.

"Well that was incredibly awkward," Justin said.

"_He thinks that was bad. Your dad doesn't even know about me yet,"_ Evan said to Troy.

_"Won't that be fun when it comes around."_

They stood there in silence for a minute and then Mr. Bolton came back into the room. "Okay, so your mother got it all worked out. Billy and Justin will sleep _in separate beds_ in Billy's room. One of the Masters brothers will sleep on the couch, and one of you will have to share Troy's bed with him. Is that okay with everyone" They all nodded. "Good." He turned around and went to his office.

"Well we're going to finish unpacking," Will said as he and Justin headed up the stairs.

"Oh yeah, we'd better move our stuff too, Dev," Evan said. Devin nodded and they went upstairs too. Troy decided to follow everyone up.

As he got upstairs, Troy's cell phone rang. "Hello?" he said when he answered.

"Hey Troy," Ryan's voice said on the other end. "Are you alone?"

"No, but I can get there." Troy walked into his room and closed the door. "okay, so what's up?"

"Well I just learned that you have Evan and Devin living in your house."

"How'd you find that out?"

"Alex and Aaron are living in my house."

"Really? Well, I guess they had to go somewhere."

"Yep. So are you and Evan screwing yet?"

Troy coughed with surprise. "What?"

"You heard me."

"Why would you ask me that?"

"Oh come on Troy. I know you hadn't quite accepted it then, but you already pretty much told me that you're gay. Also, I've seen how you get around Evan."

Troy wasn't so sure he wanted to be having this conversation. "What about you with Devin?"

There was silence on Ryan's end. "Is it really that obvious?"

"I just know you Ryan. I don't think that he's caught on to it."

Ryan sighed with relief. "Well that's good. So is Devin even gay? I mean, I want him to be, and I think that he is, but I'm not sure. So is he?"

"He says he's not."

"When you say that he says he's not, do you mean that you think he's like you and just won't admit it yet?"

"Ryan, I know that I'm gay. Evan and Devin know that I'm gay."

"So why then, are you not screwing Evan?"

"Shut up, Evans."

"I'd like to see you try to make me, Bolton."

Troy just laughed and hung up. He left his room and went to join back up with the other guys.

"So who were you talking to?" Evan asked as Troy came in the room.

"Ryan Evans."

"What's Ryan up to?" Devin asked.

"Not much," Troy told him. "Can I talk to you alone for a bit, Devin?"

"Sure." Devin hopped up from the floor and followed Troy into his room. Troy closed the door.

"So I know you already pretty much told me the answer to this, but I still have to ask. Do you like Ryan?" Troy asked.

"Of course I like him. He's my best friend at this school."

"I didn't mean like that. I mean do you _like_ like Ryan?"

Devin got a frustrated look on his face. "I already told you Troy. I am not fused."

"You say that, but all you ever talk about is Ryan Evans."

"That's because I spend so much time with him."

"That's true, but I still think it's more than that."

"Well it's not. I don't have a crush on Ryan Evans."

"Yes you do."

"No I don't!"

"You do, Devin."

"I _DON'T!"_ Devin screamed. The next thing Troy knew, flames were shooting out of Devin's mouth and coming straight at him. Troy held his hands in front of him protectively. The flames flew to either side of an invisible barrier that came out of his hands. When the flames stopped, Troy dropped his hands back down.

"If you're not fused, then what was that?"

"That was my spirit creature's ability, you idiot."

"Yeah right. The only way that could be true is if your creature was a dragon."

Devin nodded. "Exactly."

Troy's mouth fell open. "No way." Devin nodded again. "Well I still say that you like Ryan."

"I _don't!_" The light bulb on the ceiling exploded.

"Now _that_ was not a dragon power."

"No, but, I, uh, that wasn't…"

"Don't even try evading it. That's my thing."

Devin stopped talking with a look of defeat. "Just don't tell my brother, okay?"

"Why? It's not like he's going to be upset about it."

"But he will. You don't get it. Back home, everyone respects Evan. He's practically worshipped because he's fused. And he's the only one there. He loves it. If I came out, he wouldn't be so special anymore. I don't want to do that to him."

Troy wasn't sure if he really agreed with Devin, but he understood. He didn't want to hurt his brother. "Okay, I guess you don't have to tell him yet."

"Thanks Troy."

"Uh-huh. Just know that Ryan's going to be disappointed."

"Why?" Devin asked with concern.

"Well he was hoping that you were gay."

"Really? Why?" Devin asked hopefully.

"Because he has a crush on you."

"He said that?"

"Well, I figured it out on my own, and he admitted to it when we were on the phone."

"Oh. Well that's, that's…"

**BANG! BANG! BANG!** Someone knocked loudly on the door.

"Troy! Stop molesting the new boy and get out here!" Will called from the other side of the door.

Troy opened the door. "Who's getting molested!?!" his dad yelled from downstairs.

"No one dad!" Will shouted back. "Sorry. We'll be quieter." They heard him walk back into the office and close the door. "Good. You're out."

"You know Will, you really shouldn't shout things like that," Troy scolded his brother.

"Whatever. Dad needs to get over his homophobia. I know he's not that bad and it's mostly just a trust and betrayal thing, but he still needs to get over it."

Devin nodded. "You're right, he does. Especially with the number of gay guys in the house."

"What do you mean?" Will asked, confused. "Two Isn't that many. And we're only here for a week."

"Ummm…" Devin realized that he had backed himself into a corner.

"He means me," Evan said from behind him.

Will turned around. "Really." He looked Evan up and down. "I can see it. Okay, so Troy," He turned his attention back to his original topic. "You need to help the Masters move their stuff into your room."

"Okay," Troy said. "So who's sleeping where?"

"We decided that Devin can sleep on the couch and Evan's bunking with you Troy."

"Cool. That's fine with me." He helped the brothers move their stuff.

_"The only problem is that you have a crush on your bed buddy."_ Troy thought to himself. He'd accepted that now. It wasn't just a fascination with Evan. He was attracted to him. He had accepted that during Phys Ed on Wednesday, when he was once again staring at Evan as he undressed. Troy hadn't really thought anything of it at first, but when Evan bent over in his underwear, his perfect ass pointed straight at Troy, it went different from the last two days. Troy found himself facing the problem of keeping a certain stiff part of his body out of Evan's sight and to get said part under control. Troy may have been in denial before, but even he knew what this meant.

_"It means that you're going to have to be careful not to do anything stupid,"_ he thought to himself. He just hoped he'd be able to do that.

**-HSM-FREAK-HSM-FREAK-HSM-FREAK-HSM-FREAK-HSM-FREAK-HSM-FREAK-HSM-**

Dinner was an incredibly awkward experience. Both of Troy's parents were silent the entire time and Troy's dad glared at Justin whenever he spoke. This of course mad Will glare and throw a couple of mental _"screw you" _s out at his father. They were loud enough that Troy could hear them without even trying to listen in.

As it came to time for bed, everyone went to their planned sleeping locations. Devin went downstairs and Will and Justin went into Will's room. Evan and Troy each chose a side of the bed and got in.

"So what were you talking to my brother about earlier?" Evan asked.

"Oh, nothing important."

"Well then it doesn't matter if you tell me, right?"

"Um, well he kind of told me not to tell you."

"Okay, I guess I won't pry. For now."

They laid there in silence for a while, the Troy asked, "So are you missing your home yet?"

"Not really."

"Are there any other fused where you're from?"

"No. I was the only one over there."

"That must have been cool. You had everyone looking up to you, right?"

"Ugh. Yes, but it's so annoying. I hated being the only fused. It was bad enough that I couldn't get a boyfriend, and then I have everyone all up in my face."

"So you wanted another fused there so you could get a boyfriend?"

"Well that would've been great, but even if they didn't want to date me, at least it would take some of the attention off of me."

"So you wouldn't mind if someone else back home came out?"

"Are you kidding? I'd probably hug them. Why do you ask?"

"Well, when I was talking to Devin today, he was telling me how he thought you'd be devastated if you weren't the only fused anymore. That's why… that's why he's hesitant to come out."

Evan shot up. "He told you?!"

"Yeah," Troy said. "Wait, you say that like you already knew."

Evan laid back down. "I did. He's never told anyone, but I knew. He's my brother and we're really close, so I pick up on things about him. Also, it's extremely rare to have your spirit creature be a magical one if you're straight. I don't know if you knew, but his spirit creature is-"

"A dragon, I know. He almost burnt me to a crisp today because I made him mad."

"You must have really caught him off guard or something, because he's good at keeping it under control. Just like his powers. He has never even once displayed any power, even though I know it's there."

"Well he did blow up a light bulb today."

"I guess that's a start. Didn't you say you were replacing it because it blew out?"

"I was trying to keep his secret for him."

"Thanks for that. That'll mean a lot to him. Well now that he's displayed I'll have to start training him with you."

"That might be a problem." Troy rolled over and looked Evan in the eyes.

"Why's that?" Evan asked.

"Because he's not gay."

"Uh, Troy, didn't we _just_ finish establishing that he is?"

"Yes, but I'm not supposed to tell you that, so to his knowledge, you still think he's straight."

"Ugh, well that's annoying. Well if he told you, then he should be telling me any day now."

Troy hoped that was true. He didn't know how long he would be able to go without slipping up on this little lie.

**Author's Note:** So there's the next chapter. It's not the best ending, I'm aware of that, but that's just all that I can get out for this right now. If you want more, review and I will be more motivated to write. I really want to know what people think.


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